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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. kid — child
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. kid — to tease
  7. land — ground
  8. cold — an illness
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. stand — to bear
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. land — to come down
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. rush — hurry
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. land — a country
  19. cold — not warm
  20. foot — a measure
  21. net — in sport
  22. net — after costs
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. rush — a thrill

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com